FILE – Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard looks on during an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, March 16, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King, File)
NEW YORK — A Georgia businessman was convicted Friday of scamming former NBA star Dwight Howard out of millions of dollars in a bogus scheme to buy the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.
The jury returned its verdict against Calvin Darden Jr. on Friday afternoon after a trial in New York City. Darden was also convicted of cheating former NBA forward Chandler Parsons in a separate ruse.
Howard — one of the NBA’s most dominant centers during the prime of his 18-year professional career — testified during the trial that Darden fooled him into giving him $7 million by convincing him that it was an investment toward the purchase of the Dream. In reality, a three-member investor group that included former player Renee Montgomery bought the team in 2021.
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When a prosecutor asked him if he got anything in return for his $7 million, Howard testified that he got “a slap in the face.”
Prosecutors said Darden also teamed up with a sports agent to fool Parsons, who had a 9-year NBA career, into sending $1 million that was supposed to aid the development of James Wiseman, who currently plays in the NBA.
Darden’s conviction came eight years after he was sentenced to a year in prison for impersonating his successful father in a failed bid to buy Maxim magazine. In that case, Darden got leniency by cooperating with prosecutors against others charged in the case.
This time, though, Darden turned down two offers by the government to plead guilty and went to trial.
Prosecutors believe he will face between 11 years and 14 years in prison when he is sentenced early next year.
After the conviction, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Meade sought to have Darden immediately taken into custody, saying he had not learned his lesson since the case in 2016, but Judge Vernon S. Broderick ruled that he could remain free on bail for now.
Howard was an eight-time All Star and three-time defensive player of the year. He played for seven franchises, most notably the Orlando Magic — who took him with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2004 draft — and the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won his lone NBA title during the pandemic-affected 2019-20 season. Parsons played with Houston, Dallas, Memphis and Atlanta.
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The Atlanta Dream had been co-owned by former Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, but she was pressured to sell after clashing with players over her opposition to the league’s racial justice initiatives. Dream players urged people to vote for her Democratic opponent, now U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.
During closing arguments Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Thompson said the proof that Darden “committed these crimes is overwhelming.”
The prosecutor said Darden spent at least $6.1 million of the $7 million he got from Howard. That included spending $500,000 on two cars; $110,000 on a piano; $765,000 for a down payment on a $3.7 million home; $90,000 on luxury watches and another half-million dollars for home upgrades in addition to hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on art.
Prosecutors said they planned to seize all of Darden’s assets, including his Atlanta home, along with luxury automobiles, art and jewelry.
Darden’s lawyer insisted his client won’t commit additional frauds and is needed by his family.
Darden’s father, Cal Darden, is a former senior vice president for operations at Atlanta-based United Parcel Service Inc. who has sat on the boards of several major companies. Darden’s lawyer Xavier Donaldson argued that his client never impersonated his father with the athletes and accused prosecutors of trying to get jurors to use “guesswork, speculation, unreasonable inference” to reach a guilty verdict.